What's in a word?

Valerie's comment to one of my previous posts inspires this new posting.

First, allow me to define some terms as they may apply to this discussion (links are to Wiki definitions, and not necessarily the definitions I will use here):

religion - a system of beliefs, often used to refer to organized, institutionalized belief systems

faith - belief in something, often without evidence, and often used to refer to belief in some higher power, force, or entity, be it the collective human soul, God, etc.

spirituality - a sense of connection to the universe, be it through religion or not

First off, I feel that organized religions tend to have an interesting challenge, namely that they must provide spirituality and faith as their product, but in the end they are a business of sorts. They must not only keep members but also grow, or at least pass on to the next generation, to survive. As the power base, and in fact often the very definition, of the leaders of such organizations comes from the religion itself, they will go to great lengths to keep the religion alive. This reveals some uncomfortable truths about religion - the worst being that it is run by humans, plain, ordinary, fallible humans, NOT by the higher powers to which they look.

This uncomfortable truth makes the idea of contradictions in the religion, the idea of conversion, and many other seeming problems much easier to explain - the real reasons often aren't given, as they tend to sound less spiritual, but in the end, the religion needs people and will adapt to make that happen. For those focused on lineage, why not start a new lineage? If they welcome those that disagree, they usually argue it helps strengthen the arguments to finding their path.

Given all this, I often wonder what the best way to attract members really is. I look at Manhattan museums - I think few would question that the largest, most successful is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a pay-what-you-wish museum, and that some of the least successful include those with steep required donations. Sticking with money, I can only speak to Christianity and Judaism, but I think it's clear that the Christian "pass-the-plate" model in general is more successful, and in fact some synagogues have adopted this. It would seem when people are invited to give, they give more freely - choice is more empowering than obligation, perhaps.

My only warning to Jews on this note is to be 100% clear that donations to a synagogue in lieu of dues are just that, donations to a synagogue, NOT tzedakah, alternately translated as righteousness or charity. Those two pots are different and should remain so at all times!

What about membership? In the past, Judaism has accepted converts, but required them to ask three times. Christianity, depending on the denomination, accepts converts openly, even inviting them, or goes so far as seeking them out actively. What works best? Reform Judaism has recently decided to start "inviting" converts within its walls, i.e. non-Jewish spouses, under the logic that if they don't ask, they'll never get a "yes" answer. I find something appealing about this, so long as it remains clear that being non-Jewish is not grounds for being ostracized, but simply a choice, with whatever consequences are appropriate to that community (e.g. not saying prayers on the pulpit, not being considered a "member," simply being of a different faith community, etc.).

So, in the end, how does this impact us? Well, I'll say this - religion is a very useful framework to start from. It provides books and rules and a set of beliefs and practices that are easily followed (if they weren't, who would join the religion?). However, can't we strive for more? Once we've found faith, can't we strive for pure spirituality? We are all intelligent, independent persons, and within that context we should be able to decide what we believe by ourselves and decide where we find meaning on our own. I am NOT advocating a rejection of organized religion - the culture which it provides, and particularly the community it generates, are wonderful components of a healthy life. Additionally, when raising children, we may find it easier to hand them a book rather than try to explain our own esoteric beliefs - let them learn their own exceptions and rules. Within that framework, however, a Jew should be able to find spirituality in Church, a Christian while conducting Buddhist meditation, and an atheist while sitting on the bus. There's something more out there, but we have to find it for ourselves, no matter where we search. Religion is a beginning, the public school of spirituality if you will - you need not swallow everything your teacher told you without question. Discussions like this would be the higher education, where we can each grow and formulate our own ideas. Then, somewhere down the line, perhaps, we can reach spiritual adulthood.